President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe SDB has issued the following statement in response to the Bondi attack:

“On December 14, our Jewish brothers and sisters gathered in Bondi to celebrate Hanukkah, a festival of light and hope.

“But their hopes for a peaceful celebration were shattered by the horrific violence unleashed against them.

“In the days and weeks following that dreadful day we have heard many times that ‘there is no place for antisemitism here in Australia’.

“Tragically, we are now confronted by the terrible truth that there are dark places in our society where this most ancient of hatreds festers.

“The establishment of the Richardson Review into the adequacy of the policing, security and intelligence-sharing bodies charged with protecting Australians from terrorist attacks is an important step towards ensuring the attack of December 14 is not repeated.

“If there have been failures, they need to be identified and rectified quickly.

“It is important, however, to also name and confront the deeper roots and the extent of antisemitism in Australia and to propose ways to eradicate it.

“It is only by shining a light into the dark corners of our society – including its political, business, academic, media, religious, and cultural institutions – that we can hope to unmask the antisemitism which might otherwise go unseen, unacknowledged and unaddressed.

“For that reason, alongside the Richardson Review, some form of wider, national inquiry with sufficient authority and resourcing which can probe into the deeper issues which lie at the heart of antisemitism is needed.

“A society that protects its Jewish community is a society that protects everyone.

“To fight antisemitism is to commit to a shared humanity in our country that seeks to ‘advance Australia fair’.

“We must all work together to ensure that there is, indeed, ‘no place for antisemitism in Australia’ or for any other form of religious, racial or cultural hatred or persecution.”